Phone Calls Cause Problems
by tashaxxx
Summary: A phone call causes emotional disaster for one member of the team
1. Chapter 1

Face felt himself fall down into a sitting position on the bed in the apartment he had recently scammed for himself. His face fell into his hands as he tried to stop the tears from fall. Face couldn't allow his emotions to overcome him but they were. Tears were burning in his eyes. Tears that he couldn't let fall. Because if they did all the emotions would come out.

The team where meant to be helping BA at the kids centre today. He was meant to pick Murdock up from the VA hospital in the next hour. If he let his emotions overtake him, Face knew that there would be no way of him getting there. But he couldn't help it.

Even as he tried to bottle them up the tears where falling. It wasn't fair. A phone call should not affect him so much but it had. Or rather the news had affected him. Shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts, Face let some of the tears fall.

A shower would help. Help him to relax and clear his thoughts so he switched the shower on at a high heat and stood there. He didn't know for how long but as he stood there letting the water droplets hit him, the phone rang 5 times. Face never heard it. Too immersed in his own thoughts.

By the time Face got out of the shower, put some clothes on and brushed his hair he had full control of his emotions again. Looking at his watch, Face silently cursed. He was late. BA was going to kill him. Face had promised to be there and now it didn't look like he would be able to get there. Not at this time. Had he really spent the last 4 hours in the shower? Damn it. This was why emotions were never a good thing. They made him think. And when he thought nothing ever mattered except those thoughts. Face could remember times when he'd spent a whole day, thinking about the emotions swirling around inside of him and bottling them up never to resurface again.

He was so selfish. He'd gone and let down the team and a bunch of little kids. That was just worng. His emotional state be damned. Tears of frustration where appearing now in Faces eyes but he rubbed them away angrily. Hannibal always told him bottling all those emotions up wouldn't do him any good. Looked like the jazz filled colonel was right again. Face collapsed on the bed, frustrated at himself. Selfish.

**LINE BREAK**

"Thanks for pickin' me up, Colonel." Murdock was looking out of the window of the van with a silent sadness about him. Hannibal hadn't been to happy when Murdock had called him that afternoon asking for a pick up. But he was also worried. It wasn't like Face to not pick Murdock up.

"It'd fine, Captain." Hannibal put the van into drive and they started down the busy streets of LA. "See if you can't get a hold of Face, Murdock."

"I've already tried Hannibal. Facey ain't pickin' up." But the crazy pilot still rang the missing lieutenant. When no one picked up, Hannibal frowned. The whole team knew that they had to pick up the phones. A thought crossed Hannibal's mind at that moment but he shook it off almost instantly. Face wouldn't be stupid enough to get himself caught by Decker. No, Face was probably off with some girl. If he was though, well the kid was gonna get a hell of a punishment. Starting with a 20 mile run, Hannibal thought.

When the van pulled up outside of the kids day centre, BA went to greet them. He had a small girl attached to his side, talking about something or other. When he saw that Face wasn't there he told the girl to run back inside and went over to the other two team members.

"Where's Faceman?" Murdock looked sadly at BA, shaking his head to show that he didn't know.

"Haven't seen him, and he isn't answering his phone either." Hannibal lit a cigar, frowning off into the distance.

"Don't think Decker got 'im do ya?"

"No. Not unless the girl Face picked up the other night was one of Decker's honey traps."

"What, Shelly. She wasn't no honey trap. Too nice for that." Murdock said, remembering the blonde haired girl that Face had picked up on the last night of the teams last mission.

"Murdock's right. Face is probably just with her." Murdock looked sad at that. BA wasn't happy about it either, sure he and the fool argued but he still cared. Not that he'd let no one know.

"Yeah. If Face was in trouble I'm sure he'll have called by now. But if he still hasn't phoned by the time we're done here, we're goin' round to his place. Check up on him." Hannibal stated.

Just as Hannibal said this, a little boy ran over to them, asking for help. "Don't worry kiddo. Captain Glue will help you." Murdock said in his craziest voice, making the kid laugh.

"Stop that fool; don't want none of your crazy rubbin' off on these kids." BA growled, following the pilot into the building. Hannibal hung back and phoned Face's apartment again, before following the other two inside wondering all the time where Face was.

**LINE BREAK**

A headache was forming, making Faces' head pound. Swigging down a couple of pain pills with a glass of water, Face headed for the door. He needed air. Needed something to clear his head. The shower hadn't worked. Only made his emotions come further to the surface. If he was in a more public place, Face couldn't let his emotions show then. Maybe then he'd be able to get them under control.

The overwhelming feel of guilt and grief where the most prominent of Face's emotions. He had wanted to phone the team, tell them what had happened but he couldn't let him see him in this weak state. Face knew he should have at least phoned to apologise for not showing up but he didn't think he would be able to hold the emotions down long enough to make up an excuse.

Cold air hit him as he walked down the street. Face had no idea where he was heading but neither did he care. He just wanted to walk. So that's what he did.

LA was beautiful at this time of day, Face thought aimlessly. The sun was starting to set, casting a deep red glow over the city. There wasn't many people around but Face still used the back alleys, not wanting to see other people. When he had been a kid in LA he had walked the streets like this. He could remember running away once. Face had just walked out of the orphanage one morning and had let his feet take him away. He'd just kept walking then. Bottling his emotions. Keeping his head clear. That was how he dealt with them. He just ran away. Coward.

**LINE BREAK**

"Facey!" Murdock called as Hannibal used the spare key Face had given him to let the three men inside.

It was dark inside the apartment. Dark and messy. That surprised Hannibal most. Face always told them, when they visited, that they had to put things back where they found things. Wouldn't let them put their feet on the tables or anything. As Murdock had one dubbed him, Face was a neat freak. But the apartment would say otherwise. Steam was evaporating from the open bathroom door, where towels and dirty clothes had been thrown on the floor. The bed was wrinkled but not slept in. It was more like Face had made it when he'd woken up then spent the day lying on top of it. Hannibal was worried.

"Something's wrong, Hannibal." BA grunted, moving his way around the apartment. Hannibal nodded in agreement as he copied the gold covered man. Murdock was doing the same.

By the time the team had finished looking around the apartment for any clue as to where Face was, Hannibal had started to get worried. As, it seemed, had Murdock and BA. The crazy pilot had started to jump up and down on the balls of his feet, filling up with nervous energy. Whereas BA had started to clench and unclench his fists.

"Where is he?" Hannibal said to no one in particular.

"I don't know. But I sure don't like the look of it." BA growled.

"At least we know he wasn't with any girl." Murdock tried to joke but it was obvious he was worried.

"What'd the plan then, Hannibal?" BA asked, turning to face the Colonel.

Before Hannibal had a chance to answer, though. Someone knocked on the door. "Murdock, open it." Hannibal said, grabbing a pistol out of his pocket. BA did the same and they both went to opposite ends of the room. Murdock took out his own pistol and slowly opened the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews. I like to hear your thoughts on what I'm writing. **

"There you go, Sister." Hannibal handed the nun a cup of tea.

"Thank you, Colonel Smith. Templeton told me a lot about the three of you and I'm glad that what he told me was true."

"What'd he say, Sister Mary?" Murdock leaned on his knees, wondering what Face had told the Sisters from the orphanage about the team.

Sister Mary laughed, thinking back to the letters that Templeton had sent her. "He wrote to us, telling us about you and, although he may not have stated as such, we could all tell that he trusted the three of you a lot." The three nodded at that. Face didn't let people in, easily, but somehow the three of them had managed to get through to him. But that didn't mean they knew him as well as people might think. "It warmed our hearts to know Templeton had found such good friends. Especially, Father Maghil." Sister Mary could remember that, when they had found the little boy on the steps of the orphanage, the good Father had been able to coax the child out of his shell. They had been close.

"I'm sure Face would like to see you Sister but is there any reason why you're here." Hannibal watched as the Sisters face took on a sad look.

"You okay, Sister." BA asked. He had also seen the look that passed through Sister Marys face.

"Yes. There is Colonel. I'm not surprised that Templeton has not told you, he has always been secretive, especially with his emotions. In truth, I am worried for him. All of us who know Templeton in the orphanage are worried." The three men sat in silence, waiting for the Sister to continue. "Father Maghil passed onto the next world just last night."

The team sat in silence for a minute. They hadn't known the priest well but they all knew that Face cared about the old priest a lot. Father Maghil had, practically, raised Face from a kid.

Hannibal knew Face would be trying to block his emotions and knew that eventually they would all boil over and they would be too much for Face. He was always telling the kid to let his emotions out more but that wasn't Face. No, Face just bottled them up.

BA was worried about Faceman. Probably Face was trying to block the grief out and he'd run off to do that. That was never a good thing when it came to Face. Sucka needed to let it out and to do that he needed to be forced into it.

Murdock sat quietly, his brain whirring. He knew they had to find Facey. Facey was his best friend and he was hurting and Murdock didn't like to see his friends hurting. Murdock knew Face needed them, even if Facey might not know it. Problem was Facey was missing.

"Don't worry, Sister. We'll help 'im." BA gruffly said. The Sister nodded her thanks.

"Do you know where he might have gone?" Hannibal asked, just before he opened the door for the Sister to leave.

"Yes. He'll be in the park. By the pond. He always went there to think when he was younger." Sister Mary said, before making her way out of the apartment.

**LINE BREAK**

Pitch blackness was pierced only by the street lamps nearly 30 yards away from where Face sat. The stars where glistening in the dark night sky. Ripples broke the ponds surface as Face threw stones.

When he was a kid, he remembered coming here to think. Father Maghil had always found him sitting in this same position, doing the same thing. But he never interfered. No. He just sat there, waiting for Face to talk, not pushing him but waiting. Sometimes Face talked and sometimes he didn't. Either way when the pair headed back to the orphanage, Face felt better.

He would never have that again. Father Maghil would never sit next to him, saying a comforting word or sit with him in companionable silence. The team were great but they weren't good for what he needed to help with his emotions.

Hannibal pushed and pushed until Face broke. He remembered after the POW camps. He hadn't wanted to talk about it. Had bottled the emotions up until Hannibal had pushed him. Pushed him until he exploded. Not that Face wasn't grateful, it's just didn't enjoy it. Didn't enjoy the feeling of all of those emotions coming out at one time.

A tear came to his eyes but he pushed it back. BA was nearly as bad, Face considered. The big man wasn't compassionate, unless he was with kids or his Mama. No. Face knew BA cared but the big man preferred to ignore the emotional states. He would mention it to one of the other team members but he wouldn't get directly involved.

Then there was Murdock. Face's crazy best friend. He could make even the most desperate situation better, just by being Murdock. Face remembered when the crazy pilot had invented Billy, in the POW camps. The dog had made all of them smile. Had gotten them through the tough times. But a smile wasn't going to fix this. Not. These emotions ran to deep for that.

Grief was running through Face, along with a thousand other emotions that he had kept bottled up over the years. A choked sob appeared but he pushed it back again. No crying. Bottle them up again. Concentrate.

It was just a con. A con that Face used on himself time and time again. Con himself into thinking he didn't care. If he could convince himself of that then nothing could touch him. No emotion could get through to him. But this emotion did.

Father Maghil had been the closest thing Face had ever had to family. To a Father. The team came pretty close to but he had known the Father for so much longer. He had been there when he'd been abandoned by his parents. Father Maghil had been there when he had been sick or hurting. Had watched him grow into the overconfident teen that he had been. Never judged his decisions. Never been angry like the Sisters or perspective parents had been with Face's lying and conning. Had stood by Face when he had told him that he was going to join the army. Father Maghil had been the one to give Face a name. Had taken him in and named him. Given him an identity. And Face missed him. God help him, he missed Father Maghil.

So he let the tears fall. He let them fall in this beautiful and private place. Face cried for what he had lost. And he remembered. He remembered his childhood memories. He remembered the Father as he had been. Been in life as he was not in death.

A car horn made Face stop. Realisation hit the conman in a second. What was he doing? He couldn't let his emotions consume him. They already had a hold of him though. A tight hold that would not let him escape its grasp. Staggering to his feet, Face tried to bottle the emotions up. Tried to stop them. But he couldn't.

He fell to his feet, tears still appearing. Face couldn't remember the last time he'd cried so much. Silent tears. No noise. That was how he had always cried. Shuddering with the effort to control his emotions, Faces' world started to spin.

Face hadn't eaten since he had gotten the call late last night, to consumed with thoughts and emotions. The emotions had started to effect Face. This was why he didn't let them come through. He bottled them up so he wouldn't have to feel their effect.

When he tried to stand though, black spots appeared in his vision. Everything was coming at him at once. Face couldn't handle the emotions. The memories. There was too much. He couldn't bottle the emotions back up. Couldn't put them in the tightly locked box in the back of his mind.

The black spots where gathering in the corners of his vision. He was so tired. So Face let blackness consume him. Better that than let the emotions consume him.


	3. Chapter 3

Hannibal, BA and Murdock watched as Face fell forward. They expected him to move. He didn't. Hannibal was the first to move, closely followed by Murdock and then BA.

"Facey." Murdock's tone showed worry as he knelt in front of his friend, gently shaking the younger man's shoulder. None of them had seen Face like this before. The kid never let them see his emotions but they looked to have come out. Face's cheeks were wet, as if he had been crying.

"Faceman." BA put a hand on the con man's shoulder. He wasn't used to comforting people but it looked like Face needed it.

Hannibal watched Face, concern written plainly on his face. He should have gone looking for Face. Helped the kid before this happened. But instead he'd ignored it. He'd left Face to deal with this on his own.

"Welcome back kid." Hannibal put a restraining hand on Face as he started to stir. Those blue eyes where blinking at the three of the sluggishly, while Face was starting to lift himself up.

"Don't try moving too fast, Facey." Murdock said, pleadingly. He didn't want his friend to hurt himself any more than he looked like he'd done already.

"What happened?" Face asked, ignoring Murdock pleads and sitting himself up. He went pale and dizzy but this time he stayed upright. Embarrassment and shame filled the con artist as he looked down at the floor not wanting to look at his friends.

"We were kinda hopin' you would be able to tell us kid." Hannibal stayed crouched down, not wanting to make Face any more uncomfortable. Face shook his head as if to clear it. He remembered the emotions coming up. Not going back into their box. He hadn't meant to lose consciousness but he had.

"How'd you guys find me?" Face's head was starting to clear, slightly. Seeing the others had given him the kick start into getting his emotions back in check.

Hannibal frowned, knowing that Face was trying to block the emotions out. "Sister Mary came to your apartment." A fond smile appeared on Face's lips. "You should have told us."

"Yeah, Faceman. We could have helped." BA gruffly said.

"We're your friends, Facey we want to help you." Murdock gave Face a reassuring smile.

"I…I don't need any help." Face silently cursed himself for the stutter. How was he supposed to convince them to leave him alone if he couldn't even speak properly?

"That why you collapsed." BA stated, frowning at the con man. Why couldn't Face just accept the help being offered?

"That…It was…I'm fine." Face stumbled over the words, his head starting to go fuzzy again as the emotions returned.

"No you aren't." Murdock said.

"You can't deal with this on your own." Hannibal pushed.

"Yes I can. I can." It sounded to the other three that Face was trying to convince himself more than them.

"Facey. Please." Murdock begged his friend. Face just hung his head down again, silently begging them to leave him alone. The tears where coming again. He didn't want them to see this. Couldn't bear for people to see his break downs. They were his emotions. No one needed to see them but him. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

"C'mon kid." Hannibal stated, getting to his feet. Looking at Face, expectantly he said, "Don't make me order you kid." Hannibal didn't want to force Face to do anything but it was obvious he needed help and that Face wasn't going to take that help without being forced.

Murdock helped Face to his feet, only to be shaken off by said man. "I'm fine." Murdock looked at Face dubiously, but left him be. Knowing that Face wouldn't make it too far without help. He was right of course.

Face made it a few steps before he started to shake and fall forwards. BA managed to stop Face from falling over but was shocked by the way Face acted. Usually he put up a fight about being helped. Didn't matter if he was hurt or nothing. But now Face just gave BA a defeated look and let the bigger man help him to the van. Collapsing into his usual seat, he turned away from the others.

Emotions where building up once more and Face no longer had the energy to hold them back. The tears where threatening to fall but he didn't let them. If he was going to cry it wouldn't be in the view of his friends.

Murdock looked sideways at his friend, with a sad look. He wanted to try and comfort Facey but he knew anything he did wouldn't be liked. Facey needed time. So Murdock chose to sit there in silence, watching his best friend just in case.

BA was half watching the road and half watching Face through the rear-view mirror. There was nothing BA could do to help his friend, which made him angry. He felt utterly helpless as he watched Face struggled with his emotions but he knew Face was having a worse time of it than him.

Hannibal was concerned. It wasn't often Face let his emotions come out and even when they did it wasn't always by choice. He knew Face had bottled up emotions and knew well the effects of those emotions. It was only a matter of time before Face crumpled and let them out. The question was when. Well. Hannibal knew the sooner the better.

"Take us to my condo." Hannibal said, watching BA take the left up the interstate. Face needed privacy and comfort, none of which he'd find at his own apartment. Anyway, there was more room at Hannibal's and there was no way the three of them where leaving Face on his own any longer than absolutely necessary.

As soon as the team entered the condo, Face made to go up the stairs, wanting to be alone. Hannibal was having none of it. "Sit down, lieutenant." Face froze, considering ignoring the obvious order.

"Better do as he says, Faceman." BA said, sitting down on one of the chairs. Hannibal went to sit in another chair, leaving Face to sit on the sofa with Murdock.

They sat in silence, no one knowing where to start. Face was getting more and more uncomfortable with the stress the others were giving him. His emotions where still raw. Still wanting to come up. He hadn't thought that he'd be able to bottle them up. Lock them away. But he couldn't. How could he get rid of the feeling of grief when the man who had raised him from a 5 year old was dead?

"You need to let it out, kid." Hannibal softly spoke. Face shook his head, afraid that if he tried to speak the emotions would come boiling to the top.

He looked ready to break. The emotions inside of him where making him physically shake. The other three felt guilty for making Face face the emotions inside of him but there wasn't any other way. If he bottled them up they would just return in a worse manner.

So they sat there. Face waiting for his three friends to talk, not wanting to take the lead or hurry along what he knew was going to happen. BA sat uncomfortable but helpless as he wasn't able to help Face and didn't feel comfortable with what they were going to do. Murdock sat nervously, knowing that what Hannibal had in mind to get Face out of it wasn't going to be well received. Hannibal sat thinking of the best way to get through to Face, dreading what he was about to do.


	4. Chapter 4

"Why didn't you tell us, kid?" Hannibal asked.

"Don't, Hannibal." Face panicked. He couldn't explain it. He didn't want to talk about it. All Face wanted to do was get out of there. To let his emotions consume him out of the way of them. He couldn't let them see him lose control. It was too late though. He'd already lost control. But he couldn't accept that.

"Face. Answer the question." When Face didn't answer, he continued talking. "Was it because you didn't want us to know." Face shook his head. "Then what?"

"It's alright, muchacho." Murdock patted his friends shoulder as Face shook his head.

"Don't, Hannibal. Please don't." Face pleaded with the colonel not wanting to appear weak. But he was already. His pleadings where feeble and there was no way that Hannibal was going to drop it. So why couldn't he just talk.

"No. Kid, why?" Hannibal was more forceful this time.

"I couldn't…" Face trailed off.

"Couldn't what, sucka." BA said, looking over at the con man who looked so overwhelmed with emotion.

"It's private." His protests fell on deaf ears.

"No it isn't. We're a team, Face. We look out for each other so let us help you." Hannibal gave the younger man a piercing look. Face only shrugged his shoulders, trying desperately to hold back the tears. He failed on this as well. One managed to escape, making a track down his pale face.

Father Maghil was dead. And that fact hurt. He missed the priest. He missed him. "I know but…I…He's…" Face couldn't think of anything to say. The emotions were so overwhelming that Face could barely think straight, let alone think of an answer that would satisfy the Colonel.

"He's what, Face." Hannibal didn't want to do this. It hurt him seeing Face like this. The kid had gone through so much and this wasn't fair on him but he had to deal with it and if that meant Hannibal had to push until the kid cracked. So be it.

"He's dead." Face whispered, so softly that the others had to strain to hear.

Another tear escaped and this time Face didn't care. A few more followed soon after and soon they were all falling. Face kept his head bowed. Not wanting to look them in the eyes. Why did they have to push?

"Muchacho?" Murdock laid a comforting hand on Faces' shoulder but he shook it off.

"Don't, Murdock. Just…Don't." Face was trembling as more tears fell. The effort of keeping the brunt of his emotions under wraps was too much. Let the tears fall. They weren't anything as to what Face was really feeling. If they fell maybe they would be satisfied. Maybe then they would leave him alone with his grief.

Face should have known better than to think that. "How does that make you feel, Lieutenant?" Hannibal snapped.

He'd seen the tears and was feeling more and more guilty as this continued but he couldn't stop. If he left now then Face would put his walls back up and there would be no way of getting through to him a second time.

"Let us help you Faceman." BA gave his friend a look that made Face feel terrible. They were worried about him and he couldn't let them in.

Guilty about the sudden realisation, Face answered before he could stop himself. "I don't know." He was confused. The feelings where coming through. All of them. Grief for Father Maghil's death. Guilt for everything that had happened today and for not seeing the Father more often. Embarrassment for losing control in front of the team. Abandonment. Even though Face knew it wasn't Father Maghil's fault he'd died, Face couldn't help but feel abandoned. Which led to feeling lonely.

New tears appeared this time as Face shook his head. "Hannibal…" Murdock started, looking worriedly at his friend.

But Hannibal put a hand up to stop the Captain. "Face. The sooner you cooperate the sooner we can stop this." Hannibal wanted to stop. He wanted to stop right now. But he couldn't.

"I miss him." Face's voice was low as the emotion was clogging up his throat. "I never got to thank him…for…for looking after me." Face didn't know why he was saying it. He didn't want to. He wanted to be left alone. But that wasn't going to happen.

"Father Maghil didn't need thankin' muchcho." Murdock put a comforting hand on Face's shoulder, again,. And this time Face let it stay there. Honestly, he was past caring anymore.

"The crazy fool's right, Faceman. Father Maghil knows you cared and he'll know that your thankful. You didn't need to say nothin'." BA said.

"When's the funeral, Face?" Hannibal's voice was equally as soft as Face's was.

The younger man's tears had finally stopped and he was starting to regain control of his feelings again. "Tomorrow." Face looked at the other three, feeling immediately guilt again. "Sorry…"

"Don't be sorry sucka."

"The ugly mudsuckers right, Facey. You ain't got nothin' to be sorry 'bout." Murdock continued.

"Except for not telling us." Hannibal smiled as Face let out a choked laugh.

**LINE BREAK**

The earth was freshly mounded on top of the grave. There wasn't a head stone yet, having not been carved but Face didn't mind. It was a beautiful day. The sort of the day Father Maghil had liked. Birds where in the green trees, the sun was shining down. Spring had always been the Father's favourite time, saying that it brought all things new even new opportunities. Face had always like that. Yes. It was the perfect day for Father Maghil's funeral.

Hannibal had concocted the most outrageous of plans to get the four of them into the funeral, seeing as the MP's had been watching the place. It didn't matter how though. Face was here. He had gotten to say his goodbyes to his father. Because that was what Father Maghil was. He'd raised Face. Given him a name. He was Face's father. Or at least as close as he'd ever come to it. Except maybe Hannibal.

"Thank you Father." Face whispered to the freshly dug grave before turning his back on it. Tears where running down his cheeks but they weren't for grief. He was remembering. Remembering the good times with the Father. He was grateful for everything the man had done but he was gone now. It didn't mean Face was any less sad but he knew that Father Maghil wouldn't want him crying for him.

Face took a detour around the graveyard before heading back to the van. When he was a young boy, Father Maghil had taken him through the grave stones, telling him about each of the people who were buried here. That was one of the great things about the Father. He had cared.

"Finished, Face?" Hannibal asked. Face nodded, climbing into his usual seat beside Murdock. "Excellent, BA why don't you drive us out the front."

Hannibal asked casually, knowing his lieutenant was going to be alright. Hopefully he'd learnt a lesson about keeping his emotions bottled up for too long as well. But he doubted it. Lighting a cigar, Hannibal looked at the looks the other members of the team where giving him. "What?"

"The gate?" Murdock asked.

"Where the MP's are?" BA shook his head as he put the car into drive and headed that way.

"Where else?" Hannibal grinned, watching Face rolled his eyes.

"Just great. You just came out of a funeral and already you're on the jazz." Hannibal only grinned as the van rolled out of the gates.

As if on cue an MP car pulled up on the other side of the road. Cursing, BA revved the engine and they were speeding down the road.


End file.
